


Project partners

by asinineAnomaly



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Bradley has a bad home life and it’s alluded to, Doing his best, M/M, Murphy’s law shenanigans more like me slapping random shit in, bradley starts appreciating it, but not really... expanded upon, milo is a good kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-12-30 01:58:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18305861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asinineAnomaly/pseuds/asinineAnomaly
Summary: Milo was happy to be paired with Bradley for a history project, wanting to be friends with the grumpy boy but the two end up closer than either of them expected.





	1. Chapter 1

If you asked Milo what his relationship with Bradley was, he’d love to say they were friends. He knew Bradley didn’t see it that way, but he hoped he could befriend the grumpy boy. That’s why he was happy to paired up with Bradley for this project. Unfortunately, Milo could tell Bradley didn’t share his enthusiasm.

 

“Ugh, at least it’s an in-class assignment,” Bradley grumbled, having given up on switching partners after realizing neither Melissa nor Zack was in this class, “so I don’t have to see you anymore than I need to.”

 

Milo just smiled, “Aw, it can't be that bad!” 

 

Bradley scowled in response, “It is ‘that bad,’ if we fail because of you, I’ll…” he trailed off, his expression becoming unreadable, before changing back to annoyed.

 

“It’s gonna be alright, Melissa’s been giving me the notes I missed, so I know what’s going on,” admittedly, they were for her AP class, but the contents weren’t too different. It helped that Milo was a bright kid, so it didn’t take him long to catch on, even if he missed half his classes. 

 

The bell rang and Bradley picked up his backpack and quickly left, eager to get away from Milo.

 

“I’ll see you next class,” Milo called after him, getting ready to leave the classroom, when he noticed a notebook on Bradley’s seat. Milo picked it up, eying the name written on it, proving that it was Bradley’s, and he figured he would return it in the next class.

 

Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law had other plans and despite Milo’s best efforts, he couldn’t return it that day. First, when he was going to his next class, part of the ceiling crashed down due to a broken water pipe, flooding the hallway. They were able to stop it before it got too bad, thankfully, in part due to Milo having multiple wrenches, but the incident caused him to miss class. Next, during lunch, some poor kid tripped when he passed Milo, and his lunch went flying into the face of an upperclassmen, who threw his lunch, hitting a cheerleader, who didn’t take kindly to being covered in gravy, throwing her lunch, causing a food fight. Milo noticed Bradley quickly leaving through the front door and tried to follow him, but the ensuing chaos ended with him, Melissa, and Zack sneaking through the back exit when some of the teachers joined in, creating a verifiable war zone. Milo was really glad he kept a couple of extra sets of clothes in his backpack, now that his were ruined by the food (who threw an entire jar of pickles? It was such a waste!). The next class was pretty tame, the worst that happened was a tree falling against the window, but he didn’t share that class with Bradley. He didn’t share his last class with Bradley either, unfortunately, although that was probably a good thing because he somehow ended up tied up in shoelaces, and he didn’t even use them! And when he tried to catch Bradley before he left, a family of ducks caused a jam in the hallway when they were chasing after Elliot for… some reason.

 

So, because Milo didn’t know where Bradley lived, it wasn’t until the next day before he could return the notebook. 

 

“Bradley!” Milo ran up to him, pulling the notebook out of his backpack, “you left this in the classroom yesterday.” 

 

Bradley swiped the notebook out of his hands, looking relieved before his expression turned into one of fear, “You didn’t look at it? Tell me you didn’t look at it!”

 

Milo blinked slowly in surprise at Bradley’s almost violent reaction, “No, I didn’t, I hardly touched it.”

 

This seemed to calm Bradley down, “Good… thank you, Milo.” He said, slowly, the words awkwardly coming out, as though foreign to him.

 

Milo beamed, “It’s no problem, Bradley!”

 

Bradley adjusted his glasses clumsily, “We need to work on our project.” 


	2. Chapter 2

A few days had passed, and Bradley seemed more comfortable around Milo, which made him happy. They were also making good headway on their history project, which seemed to make Bradley happy. The topic of the notebook didn’t come up either, but Milo had to admit he was curious about it, especially because he had seen Bradley writing in it. He didn’t read it, that would be investing Bradley’s privacy but he did want to ask, though his relationship with Bradley still wasn’t very good, so he doubted he would get an answer. Well, maybe it was best if he didn’t dwell on it.

 

“Hey, Bradley, do you wanna hang out later?” Milo asked, out of nowhere, figuring it was the best way to get closer to him. 

 

Bradley scoffed, “Hang out with you?” He paused, mulling it over for a second, “actually, yeah, let’s… hang out.”

 

Milo’s surprise must have been obvious because Bradley seemed to be blushing a bit and it was… kind of cute, “Really?”

 

Bradley frowned, “I can just go home if you changed your mind.”

 

“No. No! Let’s hang out after school!” Milo beamed, Bradley’s opinion of him was changing, and he hoped it was for the better.

 

—-

 

Ok, spending time with Bradley after school wasn’t going to well, considering they were literally hanging from a tree on the edge of a cliff above Coyote Woods by a fraying bungee cord. Melissa managed to duck before the bungee cord came hurtling towards them, despite her lack of athleticism, while Zack ended up tied with them before getting stuck to a lamp post and separated from them when a camel came through. Melissa stayed back to undo Zack, yelling that they’d catch up to the duo.

 

“I shouldn’t have agreed to this,” Bradley grumbled, arms crossed, lamenting that the ground wasn’t closer so he could cut his losses and leave.

 

Milo nervously giggled, “Sorry, I would get out an air mattress but my hands are tied.” Literally, his arms were pinned to him by the cord, Milo chuckled at his joke.

 

Bradley rolled his eyes, “Of course you have an air mattress, I’ll get it,” he struggled to spin around, the movement causing the cord to snap, and the duo to fall. Bradley screamed, but Milo quickly tried to do something. Luckily, the snapping of the cord loosened the part of the cord wrapped around Milo, freeing him and allowing him to take out the self-inflating air mattress and pull the cord, angling it towards the cliff. The mattress slid down the cliff and Milo quickly grabbed Bradley, angling himself so he would take the brunt of the blow when they landed. It worked, the mattress landed on the treetops and the duo on it, but the force on the landing caused the mattress to snap off the branches it was one and pop, the resulting landing knocking the wind out of Milo when he hit the ground. 

 

“You saved me,” Bradley said in astonishment, after checking to make sure all his limbs were attached.

 

“Yeah… off… please,” Milo gasped for air, and Bradley obliged, the displaced weight making it easier to breathe and letting Milo get air back quicker, “phew, that was close. Sorry, for getting you into this, I know you don’t really like this kind of thing,” he smiled sheepishly.

 

Bradley looked away, crossing his arms, “It’s fine, I knew something like this would happen.” He didn’t seem as annoyed as Milo expected, something that relieved him more than he thought it would.

 

That’s when Milo noticed what looked like a scar on Bradley’s arm, “Hey, are you ok?”

 

Bradley followed his line of sight and quickly pulled his sleeve down to cover it, “It’s nothing,” he snapped, getting up and sulking deeper into the woods.

 

“Wait, Bradley!” Milo ran after him, mentally berating himself for upsetting the other boy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Quince that’s not how physics works” ok you’re right but 1. This does take place in a cartoon so I don’t have to follow real world physics 100% and 2. *pulls out a piece of paper that has artistic license written on it with crayon*
> 
> Anywho I know I said I’d update once a week but I got. Excited and Saturday is close enough yeah?? Also if you noticed this should be ~6 chaps it should and if you didn’t notice then. You have this but yeah!! Should be kinda short but!! I’m gonna do my best!!
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Bradley was quieter than he usually was, not reacting to Milo, even when Murphy’s Law kicked in like it always did. Honestly, it concerned Milo, but when he tried to ask about it all he got was an unconvincing “I’m fine.” It was bad, and caused them to end up behind on their project, which only concerned Milo more. He knew Bradley wanted an A on the project and his reaction - or rather lack of one - clued him in on how bad Bradley must be feeling. He also noticed the edges of bruises peeking out under Bradley’s sleeves, and wondered if he should mention it. They hadn’t been there when he and Bradley parted ways the day before, but when he mentioned the scars the previous day… Milo wasn’t sure what to do.

 

“Are you ok, Milo?” Melissa asked, returning Milo to earth and making him realize he was hanging from a ceiling fan, “you seem distracted.”

 

“I’m just worried about Bradley,” he said, as she spun in and out of sight due to the revolving of the fan, “he seems really out of it.”

 

“Uh, you seem pretty out of it, too,” Zack noted, watching Milo spin for a little bit before trying to position himself to catch Milo when he inevitably fell.

 

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” Milo admitted, “I just want to help. I don’t like seeing him like this.”

 

Melissa raised an eyebrow, “Usually, you aren’t this concerned about one of Bradley’s funks.”

 

“Yeah, but… I think I said something that upset him, I don’t want him to be upset because of me,” Milo elaborated,  _ I don’t want to him to be uncomfortable around me,  _ he didn’t add. He said a quick “thanks” to Zack for catching him when he slipped off the fan, getting a small “you’re welcome,” in return.

 

“Have you apologized?” Melissa asked.

 

“Of course,” Milo practically snapped, a little bit perturbed at the notion he hadn’t, “he didn’t really respond.”

 

Melissa backed off, “It could be something else.”

 

Milo frowned, “That’s true. I hope he feels better soon.”

 

“You could try doing something for him,” Zack suggested, after setting Milo down, “you’re doing a project together, right? Why not do more of it to take some of the load off him?”

 

Milo lit up at the idea, “That’s a good idea! Thanks, guys!”

 

That’s what he did, staying up later than usual to finish up researching their topic and organizing the information. He was actually proud of his work, and, even though he was a little nervous, he knew Bradley would like it, too. 

 

——

 

When Milo got to class, the first thing he noticed was Bradley seemed better, nervous maybe, but it was better than the despondence from the previous day.

 

“We need to get to work,” Bradley immediately stated the second he saw Milo.

 

Milo pulled out the stack of papers from his backpack, they were completely intact, albeit a little crumpled causing Milo to smile in relief, “I didn’t want us to fall behind, and you seemed upset, so I figured I should do some work at home,” he explained, holding them out.

 

Bradley gingerly took the papers, still frowning, before looking them over and starting to smile, “This is… good work. This should get us back on track to getting an A.”

 

Milo smiled back at him, glad he could help and even happier after realizing this was the first time Bradley had smiled at him in a long time. It was really,  _ really _ nice. How had Milo not realized how wonderful Bradley’s smile was earlier? He wanted to make it last forever, but the contrast to his usual grumpy exterior only made Milo appreciate it more. He only hoped he could make Bradley smile more in the future.

 

——

 

Milo beamed as he recounted what Bradley had said to his friends. He just couldn’t get Bradley’s smile out of his head, it had just been so… breathtaking.

 

“You know, it seems like you have a crush on him,” Melissa teased.

 

Milo chuckled, “No, I just don’t like seeing him upset! It’s just been nice getting closer to him and learning more about him and seeing more of his expressions. His smile is beautiful, and I wish I could see it more often… but the way his brow furrows when he gets focused is cute, too. I just want to spend more time with him and maybe hold his hand or…” he trailed off.

 

“So, you  _ do _ have a crush on him,” Zack got in on teasing him too.

 

That was when Milo realized what he had said. Oh.

 

_ Oh. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep it’s new chapter time again!! I was gonna split this up into two chapters but I feel like that kinda. Messes with the flow so!! Long chap instead 
> 
> Off topic on the fic but. Today’s ep made me sad... cavendish and Dakota kinda. Need each other and I might... write something depending on how things happen but I digress
> 
> Back on the fic topic today we have Milo being cute as y’know. Usual!! I like how it turned out but maybe that’s just me
> 
> Anywho as usual thank you very much for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

They were almost done with their project, which was good because Milo still wasn’t quite sure how to act around Bradley after figuring out he had a crush on the adorably grumpy boy. He tried to act normal but being conscious of it only made him act abnormally. Funny how that worked. 

 

Bradley noticed too, “What’s going on? You’re less…  _ Milo _ , today.”

 

“Oh, uh, just nervous,” Milo weakly supplied, a withering smile on his lips.

 

Bradley squinted in disbelief, before dropping it, “As long as you can still work on this.”

 

“Of course,” Milo replied, happy to focus on the project and not this conversation. Not that he could really focus on it anyway, but he did his best.

 

Later that day, Bradley actually approached Milo and not just to get closer to Melissa, but out of worry for the boy, “what’s really going on?” 

 

Milo looked down sheepishly, “It’s… kind of silly.”

 

“Can’t be sillier than some of the stuff that happens to you,” Bradley muttered.

 

Milo felt like it was an insult but, honestly, he had a point, so Milo couldn’t really argue, “I… kind of have a crush on…”  _ you _ , he treacherous brain supplied, “... someone.”

 

“Oh,” Bradley seemed to… deflate, or maybe that was just Milo’s wishful thinking, “don’t you have a thing for Amanda?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Milo had kind of forgotten about that, “we talked about it and she doesn’t like me like that. She doesn’t really like boys like that.”

 

“Oh,” this one sounded more upbeat, “so you’ve moved on.”

 

“I guess so, yeah,” Milo really wanted to change the subject before he blurted out something he didn’t want to, “what about you?”  _ No!  _ “You don’t have to answer,” he quickly added.

 

Bradley looked at him, expression unreadable, “I do.”

 

“Melissa, right?” It was obvious, why did he ask?

 

“Huh?” Bradley looked genuinely surprised, “no?” It sounded more like a question than a statement, “she’s…” he paused, really putting thought into his next words, “important, but not… in that way.”

 

Wait, what? Milo stopped in his tracks, genuinely surprised, “Really?”

 

Bradley, a few steps ahead of him, didn’t look back when he said, softly, “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another week another chapter but this one feels... short... oh well 
> 
> Anywho cause it’s probably not gonna come up in this fic Bradley and Melissa go to this like... support group for people with shit families so y’know! Similar shit! He kinda clings to her for that reason which is totally not something I do haha. And yes I do hc Amanda as a lesbian but that’s just me it’s totally cool if you don’t I just like hcing everyone as lgbt (for the record I hc Milo as bi + non-binary Melissa as a trans lesbian and Zack as gay) 
> 
> As always thank you for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

Only one day left before their project was due, and, despite his mind still reeling over what Bradley had said before, Milo did his best to keep things in check and do his part of the project. All that was really left was presenting it, and Bradley had agreed to go to Milo’s house to practice. 

 

“It’s… in tact,” Bradley sounded surprised.

 

“Yeah, it doesn’t get destroyed nearly as much as the news would lead you to believe. We inspect and Murphy-proof it weekly,” Milo explained, opening the door for Bradley.

 

“I… see.”

 

The duo entered Milo’s room, with Milo offering Bradley the chair and electing to sit on his bean bag. 

 

“So, where do you wanna start?” Milo asked.

 

“At the beginning,” Bradley deadpanned.

 

Milo chuckled, “What part do you wanna do?” He elaborated.

 

“Oh. You do the beginning. That should get any Murphy’s law mishaps out of the way,” Bradley offered.

 

Milo nodded, “Hopefully.”

 

The two began practicing, going over important parts for their presentation and polishing it up, until Milo pushed Bradley down to get him out of the way of a paintball that somehow made its way through the wall and landed with a big green splat on Milo’s hazmat suit. 

 

“Sorry,” Milo blushed, sheepishly getting off Bradley, he felt like he was apologizing to Bradley a lot lately, “I thought that only happened in movies! It’s happened at least six times in the Krillhunter series.”

 

Bradley sat up and pulled his shirt down, “You still watch that? I stopped at Krillhunter 5.”

 

“Hm, yeah, the Beverly Krillbillies didn’t have the best writing,” Milo admitted, “but the ending was good.”

 

Bradley shrugged, “It was decent.”

 

“Which movie is your favorite?” Milo asked, excited to talk about his favorite movie series and even more excited at finding a common interest with his crush. 

 

“Probably the third one,” Bradley replied, a ghost of a smile on his face from seeing Milo’s enthusiasm.

 

“Oh, that one was really good, I loved it when Tobias took down the mutated krill with an improvised banana slingshot,” Milo started, getting increasingly excited, “the end twist of his partner being in league with the villains may seem cliche now, but it was innovative at the time and helped pioneer similar stories. My favorite is the first one, it holds a lot of good memories for me, and while the second one had a better story overall, I think the execution of the first one was better. I like all of them, though,” he paused, “well, ok, I’m neutral towards Krillhunter 8. It was disappointing, but the effects were decent.”

 

Bradley listened to Milo’s excited rambling with surprising patience, “You really like the series, don’t you?”

 

Milo’s smile became more embarrassed, “I do. It means a lot to me, it helped me look at life in a more positive way.”

 

“Wish I had something like that,” Bradley muttered, almost unintelligible.

 

“What was that?” Milo asked, hoping he hadn’t heard right.

 

“I should get going,” Bradley stood up, going to grab his backpack.

 

Milo glanced at the clock, “You should stay for dinner, my mom makes great goulash!” 

 

Bradley shifted nervously, “I don’t know…” he looked at Milo, who was giving him puppy dog eyes. He reluctantly relented, “fine.”

 

Milo shot up, “Great!” He dashed out of the room, “Mom! Is it ok if Bradley stays for dinner?” 

 

“Of course, honey,” Brigette said, “I always make too much goulash, just in case.”

 

“Thanks, mom!” Milo called, already going to tell Bradley the good news.

 

Dinner with the Murphy’s was usually eventful, from the normal fires or explosions to that one time Hamosaur crashed the kitchen, something always happened. Milo assumed that was why Bradley looked uncomfortable. He always got nervous when Murphy’s Law activated, Milo noticed. 

 

“This goulash is great, Mrs. Murphy,” Bradley said, although he was playing with it more than eating it.

 

“Aw, thank you, Bradley, you can take some home if you like,” Brigette offered.

 

“Oh. Thank you, but my mom doesn’t… like it when I bring home leftovers,” he fidgeted, looking more uncomfortable mentioning his family situation.

 

“That’s too bad,” Martin remarked, sharing a look with his wife. 

 

“How’s the project going?” Brigette quickly changed the subject before anyone could comment on the odd statement. 

 

“We’re all set to present tomorrow!” Milo said, before adding, “I just need to add a few things to my backpack in case the projector malfunctions again.”

 

“Again?” Bradley questioned, worry evident on his face.

 

“It didn’t happen during my presentation,” Milo scrambled the response, “I still got a good grade on that project.”

 

His words failed to calm Bradley, “But it could still happen.”

 

“And I’ve gotten a second chance to present before,” Milo supplied.

 

This was more successful, “... Alright.”

 

“The thing about Murphy’s Law is it’s unpredictable. Luckily, there’s plenty of understanding people willing to help work around it,” Martin explained, “it hasn’t been too bad, has it?”

 

“No, working with Milo has been… nice,” Bradley admitted, almost begrudgingly.

 

Milo couldn’t stop himself from beaming, “I like working with you, too!”

 

The rest of the meal was relatively calm, except for the table suddenly disappearing. But it had been mostly cleared, so only a couple of plates hit the floor, and Bradley got his things ready to go home, trying to calm his shaking hands.

 

“Thank you for the meal,” he said, while heading out the door. 

 

“It’s no problem, thank you for staying,” Brigette went up to Bradley and placed a hand on his shoulder, “If you need a safe place, our door is always open,” she lowered her voice, “I understand what you’re going through.”

 

“Thank you,” Bradley whispered, sincere and raw.

 

When he was out of sight Sara commented, “So, are we going to talk about Milo’s obvious crush?” 

  
“ _ Sara! _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow almost done with this.... only one chapter left and I’m sorry but it’s.... most likely gonna be delayed cause I have some school shit to do... it shouldn’t be too long though!! Just gotta get some stuff out of the way this next week!!
> 
> On a more mml note I saw tiny Milo and Bradley and baby boys. Babies ugh that ep was so cute I almost couldn’t take it... 
> 
> Anywho thank you for reading and staying with me on this!! I’m sorry again for the upcoming delay


	6. Chapter 6

“And that’s our presentation on the worst American president!” Milo concluded. The presentation had gone better than expected, the computer had malfunctioned some in the beginning, threatening to destroy their presentation altogether, but Milo had it saved on a second flash drive, meaning they could present without trouble. Well, much trouble.

 

“That was an excellent presentation on current events,” the teacher praised, “you can look forward to a good grade.”

 

“Yes!” Bradley triumphantly cheered. 

 

“We did it!” Milo assented. He held his hands up for a high five that Bradley gladly gave him, to his surprise.

 

The rest of class went by rather quickly, and Bradley seemed in high spirits, which made Milo happy. Maybe he should use this cheerful mood as an opportunity to ask Bradley out. Or maybe that would seem like he was taking advantage of the grumpy boy’s rare happiness. Milo mulled it over, although he knew he should pay attention to the other presentations, he couldn’t manage to. The bell rang suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts and he noticed Bradley’s notebook, left on his desk. It gave Milo a serious sense of deja vu as he went to pick it up and return it. 

 

“Wait, Bradley!” Milo called, catching up to him this time, “you left this, again,” he handed the notebook to Bradley,  _ this is your chance, Milo! _ He thought, before clutching his backpack straps trying to summon his usual courage, “and, um,” why was this harder than anything Murphy’s Law could throw at him? “Do you want to… go out with me?” The words spilled out, too fast, almost incomprehensible, “like, on a date?” He quickly added, to ensure he would be understood. 

 

Bradley stared at him for a moment, expressionless, before handing him back the notebook, “You can look in it.”

 

Milo did. It was filled with drawings some of them… concerning, to say the least. Monsters of various shapes and sizes, whispering dark words and tearing flesh, but as he went on, the amount decreased, mixed in with lighter things and… drawings of Milo? Some of them were scribbled out and a few were surrounded by hearts, it was adorable, honestly. “So, is that a…?”

 

Bradley blushed, deeply, obviously embarrassed by sharing, “Yes.”

 

Milo beamed, almost positive he was radiating happiness, “Really?”

 

Bradley put a hand on his face, unsure whether to hide his blush or do an actual facepalm, “ _ Yes _ , really.”

 

“Yes!” Milo couldn’t stop himself from hugging the other boy, letting go when he realized the other boy was uncomfortable, “sorry, I’ll try not to do that without asking first.”

 

“… thank you,” Bradley brushed himself off, fidgeting slightly.

 

“We could get some ice cream after school,” Milo suggested, “to celebrate!” He clarified. 

 

“As that date you were asking about,” Bradley offered, vaguely sarcastic, though it may have been a genuine question. Milo wasn’t sure.

 

It was Milo’s turn to be embarrassed, “If you want it to be!” 

 

Bradley paused, as if mulling it over, “I do.”

 

“Great! I’ll see you after school!” 

 

—-

 

Milo couldn’t wait for school to finish, he was really excited for his first date - _first date!_ The thought alone made him happy \- with Bradley. He waited outside the school, excitement mixing with nervousness as he ended up wondering about what could go wrong. He reminded himself he had plenty of things to counteract Murphy’s law, but he couldn’t get rid of all his anxiety. He never could, not completely. Bradley showed up quicker than expected, a savior from the small spiral of anxiety that he had started falling into. “Ready to go? I know this great place on Second Street!” Milo asked.

 

Bradley adjusted his backpack, “Let’s go.”

 

“Um, could I… hold your hand?” Milo asked, happy when Bradley nodded and he could intertwine their fingers. Bradley’s hand was warmer than he expected, comfortable and soft when Milo’s hands were always a little cool and callused. 

 

After a few moments of silence, tried to make some small talk, “So, do you want to talk about those other drawings?”

 

Bradley shifted his backpack, “No.”

 

“Ok,” Milo said, softly, “I’d like to talk about it and help, though,” he continued, “whenever you’re ready,” he gave Bradley’s hand a soft squeeze that he hoped would be interpreted as assurance. 

 

“Thank you,” Bradley muttered, obviously relieved to have the subject dropped so quickly. He even started smiling and that was a win in Milo’s book!

 

Of course, Murphy’s law had to ruin the sweet moment. A billboard behind them crashed into a water tower, sending water cascading down the street and threatening to sweep Bradley and Milo apart. Milo tightened his grip on Bradley’s hand, which helped ensure they stay together, but it had the unfortunate effect of leaving him unable to get anything from his backpack. Thankfully, his backpack could be used as a flotation device, but they ended up riding the wave down. It dropped them across from the ice cream shop, a fortunate coincidence that Milo smiled at.

 

“Hey, there’s the ice cream shop!” Milo said, pointing at it before grabbing a couple of towels from his backpack and passing one to Bradley, who was wringing water out of his shirt, “if you’re still up for it.”

 

Bradley took a moment to dry himself off, “We’re already here, sure.”

 

Milo smiled, helping Bradley up, before they headed in, “It’s my treat, get whatever you want.” 

 

“I’ll have a double scoop of green tea in a cone,” Bradley requested, “make that in a cup,” he said after a moment, like he had just remembered who he was with.

 

“Good call. I’ll have a double scoop of cotton candy and birthday cake in a cup, please!” 

 

Milo paid for their ice cream and the duo sat down, enjoying their treat without incident, somehow. It wasn’t until they left that the chaos truly began. A runaway truck careened down a parallel street, barely missing their line of sight, running into a street lamp, which fell onto a neon sign, breaking it off and revealing the electrical circuits, sparking a nearby awning on fire which burned through a... rope? Who knows why that was there, letting loose a slew of balloons, which distracted a construction worker who pushed a precariously perched, abnormally round rock which made it start rolling down the streets. Of course, Milo and Bradley were unaware of this string of events, Milo casually walking Bradley home, once again holding his hand (he got to do it again!). 

 

“What’s that rumbling noise?” Bradley interrupted Milo’s story about how he got the dent in his leg. 

 

Milo looked back, muttered a quick “oh no,” and pulled a skateboard out of his backpack, along with a couple of helmets. It was good to be safe, after all! “Hop on and don’t let go of me,” he told Bradley, who worriedly complied. Milo thrust them forward, gaining momentum as the flat street sloped into a hill. This wasn’t enough to lose the rolling boulder, it was gaining on them quicker than Bradley liked, “Milo! Can we go faster?” 

 

Milo grimaced, “Can you reach the grappling hook in my backpack?”

 

“You have a grappling hook?” Bradley questioned, even though he knew he really shouldn’t be surprised, “got it!”

 

Milo took it from him, twirling it around for a few seconds before zoning in on a street lamp on a corner, throwing it around and swerving them around it, though they almost lost the skateboard in the process. The boulder, meanwhile, continued on its straight path, rolling past them.

 

“Do you know where to go from here?” Milo asked, in an area of town he wasn’t completely familiar with.

 

“Turn at the next light,” Bradley instructed, “does this happen often?”

 

Milo did as instructed, “The boulder specifically? No, but something usually happens!”

 

“Seems stressful,” Bradley muttered.

 

“It can be,” Milo admitted, “I like to think of it as an adventure and it’s really exciting, but I hate seeing people get hurt because of Murphy’s law,”  _ because of me _ , he left unsaid, “but like I said, it’s very exciting and I couldn’t imagine life without it!”

 

“I see…” Bradley murmured. Milo couldn’t see his expression, but he was sure Bradley had a melancholic expression.

 

“Well-“ Milo was about to reassure, but the boulder was back behind them.

 

“I thought we lost it!” Bradley yelped.

 

“We did! It’s back!” Milo thrust the skateboard forward again, desperately trying gain some ground. Murphy’s law hit once again, and the screws of the front wheels on the skateboard came loose. The friction made them quickly gain traction, the boulder catching up with ease, “We need to jump!” 

 

“We need to what?”

 

“Jump!” Milo did his best to turn and grab Bradley before diving off the skateboard. The boulder crushed the skateboard, but the two were safely out of the way, and it rolled harmlessly past them.

 

“You saved me… again,” Bradley whispered, face quickly heating up.

 

“I’d always save you,” Milo replied, brushing a bit of hair from Bradley’s blushing face.

 

“Oh, we’re here,” Bradley said, trying to change the subject, looking away from Milo to his house from the spot on the ground where they landed. He got up quickly, brushing as much dirt off himself as he could, before offering a hand to help Milo up.

 

Milo gladly took it, a small part of him glad to be on the receiving end of this small kindness, “So, did you, uh, have fun?”

 

“I did,” Bradley gave a small smile, genuine and soft.

 

Milo lit up, “So, can we go out again?”

 

Bradley was at the door at this point, “Yes,” he went in.

 

Milo beamed, pumping his fist in the air, “Yes!” Cheerfully bounding home. He couldn’t wait to go out with Bradley again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The crowd oohs and aahs as the final chapter is posted. I take a bow. The journey is over. The fic is finished. I’m only doing this for feeling
> 
> So!! I know the subject of the worst American President is debatable but I still think the current one is a top contender and not (read: totally) because I saw my chance to make that joke. Also this chap actually wasn’t supposed to be as long as it was but I was like... they have plans for a date now I can’t not write it so here we are!! I tried to give them ice cream flavors I thought were fitting (also green tea ice cream is great I would recommend) but y’know you could substitute whatever you think works!! 
> 
> Also also you can find me on Twitter (@quixoticentity) and tumblr (@scienceknight (well I’m not really active but it’s a way to contact me!!)) so talk mml to me!! I don’t really have many people to talk about it with... 
> 
> Anywho thank you very much for sticking with me through this!! It was fun to write and I hope you guys enjoyed it too!! (And if anyone was wondering I did pretty well with the school shit I had to do)

**Author's Note:**

> *walks into a fandom and immediately makes rarepair content* man I love matcha tea lattes
> 
> So at first this was gonna be a one shot but I figured chapter format would be better so I have a good chunk of this already written hehe (I usually don’t so this is kind of a new for me) and as such I should be able to stably update like once a week. Probably. Yeah
> 
> Anywho Melissa absolutely takes ap classes and you can’t convince me otherwise Bradley has some but can’t really sustain his grades in his weaker subjects Milo has the brains for it but his constant absences make it so he can’t (I’m pretty sure there’s an attendance requirement?? I never took any so idk) and Zack takes like. One. Maybe
> 
> Thank you very much for reading!! I hope you enjoy this


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